Do I Need Uninsured Motorist Coverage to Drive Legally in Columbia, IL?

In Columbia, IL, drivers are required to carry a minimum amount of auto insurance liability coverage. If you are responsible for an accident, your liability coverage will help you pay for damages incurred by the other driver. In a perfect world, every driver on the road would have a sufficient amount of auto insurance coverage to provide enough financial protection for themselves and anyone else they could hit.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world. The fact is that if you’re hit by another driver, there’s a one in eight chance that they won’t have any auto insurance at all. Or perhaps they have coverage, but it won’t even come close to covering the damages caused by the accident. Yes, they’ll still be financially responsible for the accident, but your odds of getting them to pay up are pretty slim.

What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?

Here’s where uninsured motorist coverage comes in. Rather than being forced to take someone to court to get them to cover damages or resorting to paying for damages yourself, you can add uninsured motorist coverage to your auto insurance policy. This coverage can be used when you are hit by a driver who doesn’t have enough insurance, or even no auto insurance coverage at all, to cover damages to your vehicle.

What Does Uninsured Motorist Coverage Cover?

Uninsured motorist coverage is optional, and you do not have to have it to drive legally. However, many motorists add it to their policy. It can be used to take care of two different types of damage:
Property Damage: If you are not the at-fault party for an accident that damages your vehicle, and if the other driver doesn’t have enough insurance coverage to pay for those damages, your uninsured motorist coverage can fill in the gap. This coverage pays to bring your vehicle back to pre-accident condition.
Bodily Injury: If you’re hit by someone who has little or no liability coverage, then uninsured motorist coverage will help cover hospital bills, physical therapy, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any other medical expense resulting from the accident, up to your policy limits.

Contact Us to Learn More About Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Columbia, IL

If you were hit by a driver with little or no liability coverage, would you be able to easily cover property damage and medical bills yourself? If not, then adding uninsured motorist coverage to your auto insurance policy is a great way to protect yourself financially. Give us a call today to talk about your policy.